#12 Changed Things

Writing these posts has made me realize something really important. Instead of just writing about the things I wish I'd done, why don't I do them? Yes, I write about my regrets, but there's always time to change them. It seems a little hypocritical of me to suggest that you all, my readers, do these things that I wish I'd done, but I don't do them myself. I think in writing these posts, I've become so absorbed in telling you guys to do these things that I haven't done that I've forgotten to even do them myself. The only way to get rid of regret is to change things for yourself. Doing these things I write about is the only way I can change them from being "the things I should've done" to "the things I did". That being said, I did one of the things I should've done last night. Remember my last post in which I wrote about being a kid again? Last night I was a kid again. Last night, three of my friends and I worked at an event held by the local community theater. It was a 1980s-themed "adult prom" held in order to raise funds for the theater in conjunction with the production of the '80s musical Xanadu. For starters, just the concept in itself sounded like so much fun to me, so I begged my friend who's a student member on the board of directors for the Playhouse to get me a spot on the staff for the night. He did, and so my night of childhood experiences began. We got to the event early, so we decided to leave and go get ourselves some ice cream (see #3 on my list of ways to be a kid again) even though it was cold outside. (Well cold for where I live anyway.) On our way out, a race to the car ensued (see #6 on my list of ways to be a kid again). Now, I'm not the most athletic, but everyone loves a good race, even me. There's something about racing that creates such incredible adrenaline that you really can't help but smile. Oh, the best part of that race? Seeing one of my friends slip and fall like a champ. I know I shouldn't have laughed, but there's something hilarious about seeing a friend fall. It's even funnier when you thought it was a joke and find out that she actually fell for real. After we got our ice cream and patched up my klutz friend's knee, we returned to the event that was just about to begin. Three hours later, I'd heard the longest string of '80s songs I'd ever heard, seen adults who are usually so composed let loose and be kids themselves, and danced to songs I'd never heard before with those adults. I have to say, it was the easiest money I'd ever made. I got to spend most of my time dancing and having fun and only a small amount of time cleaning up cups and plates and dissembling chairs. What better way to spend your time? But by far my favorite part of the night came after the event was over and most of the adults had gone home. Our boss for the night told us we were free to go so on our way back to the car, we stopped at the swing set that's in the park next to the theater (see #10 on my list of ways to be a kid again). At this point, it was 12:30 AM so, of course, there was no one around. My friends and I took full advantage of this and played around on the swings for a good twenty minutes. I won't lie, my first thought was "Why am I doing this? It's cold outside and I have a lace shirt on. I want to go home and go to sleep." But once I was numbed from the cold, I had a lot of fun. There I was in dress pants and nice shoes, just out of working an event, on a swing set in the middle of the night. Being on the swing set with some of my closest friends made me really happy. Not only was I happy because I was with friends, but also I was happy because I was doing something that I'd told myself I should've done. Being in dress pants on a swing set, I proved to myself that I was right with my last post. It is always possible to be a kid again, no matter where you are in life. I'm almost 18 and I can still act like a child, and the adults at the event were able to throw themselves back to their youth with the '80s theme. Yesterday was such a good day for me because I realized how important it is for me to do the things I wish I'd done. I was a kid again, and so were the adults at the event. So why not turn regret into action? We really do have all the time in the world.